After the outcry of emotions in response to Verizon’s decision to keep Google Wallet away from the Galaxy Nexus, Big Red has come forward with a statement that kind-of sort-of sets the record straight.

According to the statement, the first thing that needs to be kept in mind is that “Verizon does not block applications.” At least not normal applications.

Recent reports that Verizon is blocking Google Wallet on our devices are false. Verizon does not block applications.

Google Wallet is different from other widely-available m-commerce services. Google Wallet does not simply access the operating system and basic hardware of our phones like thousands of other applications. Instead, in order to work as architected by Google, Google Wallet needs to be integrated into a new, secure and proprietary hardware element in our phones.

We are continuing our commercial discussions with Google on this issue.VerizonStatement on Google Wallet

The one keyword to pay attention to in the statement is secure. It appears that Verizon is going to be initially holding off on Google Wallet due to security concerns. Of course, Google didn’t mention this in any of the statements they’ve released on they subject, but it is a very valid concern for carriers. Especially when your customers’ pocket books are on the line.

So are Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile all keeping Google Wallet off their Nexus devices because of security concerns? Or does it have more to do with ISIS than Verizon is letting on? Whether it will ever be said or not, there’s a good chance it has quite a bit to do with both.

There’s no getting around the fact that Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile all have a hand in ISIS and NFC payments. And Google Wallet is a direct competitor. Plain and simple. Security is a very valid concern, but it’s also a very valid excuse. Can’t you see it now? Verizon doesn’t have the same kind of security questions with ISIS as they do with Google Wallet, because they’ve worked so closely with ISIS. Who, again, just so happens to be a direct competitor to the app they aren’t initially allowing on their phone.

It’s possible that the entire situation is being blown out of proportion at this point, but there’s a lot of questions under the surface that could seriously impact the way mobile freedom plays out down the road. As the Verizon issued statement says, they are still in talks with Google. Meaning this thing is far from over.

I don’t know… Perhaps Google simply hasn’t properly integrated Wallet for the Nexus Galaxy yet? I mean Wallet isn’t available on phones outside of the US, so the international Nexus doesn’t have it and there would therefore have been no benefit to prioritizing this feature before the US launch.

Knowing Google and the delays that often happen when trying to roll out new versions of Android – even to their own Nexus hardware – I wouldn’t be shocked if they simply haven’t gotten around to doing it yet, and a software update will happen some time after the launch to enable it.

As of right now what stops someone with an NFC scanner walking up to you and reading your phone? Sounds easier then pick pocketing, but with the same result. Just like my droid going into dock mode everytime I walk to close to a magnet…….

If only they would’ve just stuck with T-Mobile like they did with the other Nexus devices. With this launch, I highly doubt Verizon will get another Nexus exclusive. They probably won’t even get another Nexus device.

Hmmmm……Verizon is backing ISIS, and is “blocking” Google Wallet for our safety…….not sure I’m buying that. Ole Big Red sticking it to us again. How long until we just say “Thank you, may I have another”.

Dig you, Sean, for busting out a fancy $10 word! (assuages). I learned something today. I learned to not read too fast or you might accidentally read a word like “assuages” as “ass sausages,” which, if I’m not mistaken can be found on Urban Dictionary with the definition of: Verizon upper management.

Carriers ignoring security will get them in deep crap, have you already forgotten ask the crap other carriers are getting over carrieriq? That being said, this does sound likea convenient excuse given that they have a competing service of their own.

Are you sure about that? Just because it has NFC doesn’t mean it was designed with Google Wallet in mind. NFC is there for other things, like the Android Beam feature, and didn’t iFixit determine that NFC was just a sticker on the battery on the Nexus? I’m not sure how it is incorporated into the Nexus S. Another thing to remember, is only the Sprint version of the Nexus S has Google Wallet, how many people were up in arms over T-Mobile not getting it?

this is just rubbing salt in the wound at this point. I’m fed up with this and the lack of google wallet is the breaking point! i will be driving to montreal to get my galaxy nexus. it’s worth the five + hr drive! this way, i just get a pure nexus device, no hastle, no bulls***.

I love how companies like Verizon treat customers more like children than customers, WE are buying the products, WE are buying the service, let us make our own decisions on what we feel we want and do not want on that product and/or service. It’s called choice and everyone who is paying Verizon and every other wireless company money out of their pockets on a monthly basis is entitled to it.

Ugh, I just hope we dont end up with a completely different system here in the US compared to the EU and Australia. I travel to both often and its already a pain in my ass that none of my credit/debit cards have chips in them. Now this. I hate the carrier BS here in the States!!! FCC or someone needs to bitchslap these companies into acting right.

I honestly think that unless they ‘BLOCK’ the app, people will find a way to make it work since it will still have NFC (aka Beam) in the devices.
Though at this point, Google has already got the NFC payments off the ground and if more phones would just support it, people would be using it all Holiday Season, and everyone needs more spending, right?
I think it should just be up to the customer, that’s fine if you don’t pre-install it like the Nexus S, but lets customer’s choose if they want to install it and use the service, don’t control choice. Personally, I like the way that Google Wallet puts the payments and coupons and offers all together with Loyalty cards and have stores that are already taking it all. If ISIS wants to introduce another one, that’s fine, but let the customer choose which one they are going with based off the merchants they use.
Personally, if Google Wallet offers certain stores, and ISIS offers certain stores, then I might use both. But I prefer being able to use the Google System and not have to open a new account with more personal information laying about.

Use another carrier. I feel the same way about Verizon. Always have. Refuse to give them my money and tell all my friends to go with T-Mobile and if you can’t go with Sprint. Same with Samsuck. They under-built the Nexus S and the Galaxy Nexus so I held on to my HTC Nexus One and finally gave in and got the HTC Amaze.

There is no security risk with Google Wallet, the real issue is about control and limiting competition. Verizon and the other carriers want a NFC model that has the carries controlling the security element. Google’s model has Google controlling the security element and Verizon is getting pissy about it.

In the end this is all about Verizon limiting competition around the holidays. They never really wanted the Nexus, they just didn’t want any other carriers offering it, especially during the holidays. They bought it and put it on the self, so that they could maximize the sales of the crapware filled Razr and Resound.

The whole point of the Nexus line of phones was pure Android. A true Google Experience. By preventing the use of Google Wallet, the Galaxy Nexus will not be a true Nexus. Hopefully Google isn’t going to let Verizon have an exclusive for too long. I wouldn’t want the Unlocked Galaxy Nexus to be the only phone with Google Wallet.

This comment from Verizon sounds like a non-answer to me, or purposely obtuse so as to avoid the question.

“Google Wallet is different from other widely-available m-commerce services. Google Wallet does not simply access the operating system and basic hardware of our phones like thousands of other applications.”

This is true. It requires the phone is NFC equipped. So in essence, it is true that you are not blocking Google Wallet on phones that are not equipped with NFC

“Instead, in order to work as architected by Google, Google Wallet needs to be integrated into a new, secure and proprietary hardware element in our phones.”

Yes, that is what NFC is, a new, secure, proprietary hardware element. The Galaxy Nexus has this. Why is Google Wallet not available on the Galaxy Nexus?

“We are continuing our commercial discussions with Google on this issue.”

Take this exact scenario and apply it to another class of technology and ask yourself what would happen. If Microsoft had arbitrarily decided to somehow block access to Paypal with some lame excuse about it being “best for the customer”, and yet built in access to web payments via it’s browser to banks that it had cozy business relationships with — how quickly would the justice department be breathing down MS’s neck? Heck, the EU would have fined MS three times before MS could even reconsider it’s position. Yet somehow it’s acceptable for mobile network carriers to limit consumer options and dictate consumer choices to owners of what are essentially, small computers that you carry around in your pocket. I really hope that some legal authority makes it clear at some point that anti-competitive behavior is unacceptable in mobile computing, just as it is in traditional computing.

Microsoft does not pay $500 towards the purchase of your computer like Verizon does and Microsoft does not have a network to protect. I don’t agree with what Verizon is doing but you are comparing apples to oranges. If you don’t like Verizon’s policies, go somewhere else. You can not do that with Windows so your argument is invalid.

The “subsidy” is a myth, plain and simple. If you look at BOM reports (bill of materials) most smartphone’s component costs come in below $300. So yeah, it’s true that “unlocked” phones cost consumers upwards of $700 or $800, but that’s a price that’s at about 250% of materials cost. And don’t give me BS about “research and development costs” etc, there’s no way billions of dollars of R&D are going into each incremental improvement in each handset. If profit margins on these devices were as slim as the carriers and device manufactures would have you believe, then why would there be so many players in the handset game? Not all of them can hope to operate on sheer volume to make a profit. Carriers being the gateway to hardware is a racket, and when those carriers then dictate to you how you use the hardware (ie, not allowing apps that compete with their own for-profit services/apps) it’s even more of a racket.

Ever since I was able to directly compare my wife’s T-Mobile Motorola Razr with my work Verizon Razr, I just don’t trust Verizon to not block apps. My wife’s Razr was a piece of cake to upload mp3 ringtones and pics to use as wallpaper to. The Verizon version not only was missing several features entirely, but unless you paid for their VCast service it was difficult at best to add your own ringtones and wallpapers…

This was disappointing of course. I’m torn whether to get this device that I’ve been waiting so long for, or to wait until it’s soaked in the US market. There’s a lot of “newness” here that makes me wary, too. New OS, new hardware, new features. As much as I hate to admit it, I think I need to wait and risk stores being sold out until the new year.

I’m guessing VZW is going to drag their feet on allowing Google Wallet until ISIS is off the ground.
…or they could also be trying to get Google to pay a fee for each transaction that they process thru their cell network; sorta like they way merchants get charged a fee for each debit/credit card transaction.

I mean what will their argument be when they are using ISIS vs. Google Wallet? ISIS is more secure than Google? I think that’s a pretty hard sell to make and people will see through it. I think they are masking this issue under concerns of security while they try to strike a deal with Google if they haven’t already. This is what happens when you hop in the sack and give a carrier like Verizon exclusive rights to your flagship phone.

Everyone wants to control mobile payments, this is the major problem with mobile companies and such because its new to them. Whichever system that can leach into the banks will be the winner unfortunately.

….and on that note. People line up for the iPhone launches. But, heck, I can’t even line up for a Nexus launch if I wanted to. I have no idea when the thing will actually launch. I’ve wanted this phone for months. But, Google is really trying to talk me out of it. No google wallet, added Verizon apps, stop this blasphemy!

Even though it’s complete BS that Verzion is doing this and I agree with most of the comments made here, at the end of the day when this phone is released the majority of us complaining will still be getting it myself included. =/

this is nonsense, verizon is meddling with what was supposed to be a pure google experience phone. google needs to put its foot down with these carriers. we want a dumbpipe, not your silly VZW branded apps and logos splattered on everything.

I love how corporations are great at saying things without saying anything. We know that Verizon blocks access to apps on the Android Marketplace, e.g. tethering apps, and then to say it’s a hardware issue when its software that they are not allowing to be installed. And if these NFC payment systems require secure hardware, how is Verizon’s ISIS solution going to overcome the same hardware security issues?

As I’m not an Apple fan, but I have to give them credit for being able to get the same device out on all carriers, with as far as I can tell, no changes to their design of the hardware or software on the device. And since I have not seen a lot of Win7 Phones, all I can do is guess, but it appears that they don’t appear to be any different carrier to carrier either.

I think if device manufacturers need to take a stand against carrier interference with their equipment, and Google needs to take a stand on it’s OS designs. Consistency I think would result in a happy consumer base.

“As I’m not an Apple fan, but I have to give them credit for being able to get the same device out on all carriers”

I don’t see how that’s a positive thing at all. Apple forcing the carriers to bend to their will is just typical Apple behavior. They won’t even let them put the carrier name on the phone, like nearly every other phone! But since everyone wants an iPhone (or so they think), the carriers give in to their demands.

“And since I have not seen a lot of Win7 Phones, all I can do is guess, but it appears that they don’t appear to be any different carrier to carrier either.”

I haven’t seen many Win7 phones either, but I’d be surprised if that’s the case. Previous WinMo phones where frequently customized by handset manufacturers and carriers. In fact, HTC’s Sense UI was a WinMo interface before it was an Android interface.

“Consistency I think would result in a happy consumer base.”
I disagree. I think what the market needs is more variety, not more homogeny. That’s one of the things that makes Android such an appealing platform. It’s like a potato. It can be mashed, baked, au gratin, french fries, etc.

If I am purchasing a Nexus phone, it is because I want the full Google Experience. Not the Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, etc… Experience, but the Google Experience. Just because Verizon has partnered with other carriers to do what Google is doing, that is great, but make it an option for me.

Verizon, keeping you safe from the Google boogeyman. Meanwhile, they load up their phones with bloat, causing them to perform poorly and have poor battery life, and pressure OEMs to lock down their devices to boot.

This is the problem with US carriers. I am paying you for cellular service. I should not have to abide by the biases that you have towards other business ventures. If I buy a device (ESPECIALLY a Nexus device), I should have the freedom to choose how I use that technology. Offer both ISIS and Google Wallet, and I will decide which service works best for my needs. The carriers in the US are so scared of not making as much money as they possibly can that instead of giving us access to a mobile payment system that is already up and running, they restrict us from using it. The ISIS system isn’t even running yet! It’s like saying “my way or nothing at all,” but then saying “my way isn’t ready yet, so you can just wait, and still use nothing at all.” Cellular Service providers should be just that – service providers, not service restrictors. The auto dealership doesn’t tell me which gas I can buy, the mall doesn’t tell me which stores I can and can’t shop at, why should it be different for mobile?